Foreigners know Chinese culture better through intl art fair

The 23th Guangzhou International Art Fair (Spring) concluded on June 25 with over 20,000 artworks from 300 institutions presented to more than 200,000 viewers, including 40,000 foreign art lovers.

"The event is becoming more of an international gathering that opens the door to the world than an art fair that introduces foreign artistic culture to merely local people," said a French freelance illustrator.

The Aureo Gallery from Malaysia brought with them more than 20 gold paintings to Guangzhou and South Korea's Hyewon Art exhibited 55 sculptures created by the country's most renowned artists.

A joint ceremony was also held by more than 40 institutions on June 25 to award about 60 traditional Chinese painting and calligraphy works selected from around the world.

The collection of Xu Hongfei's statuary, one of many fascinating exhibitions, is the most popular among foreigners. Plump Woman, one of this Guangzhou-based artist's most famous works, drew a lot of attention for challenging a Chinese stereotype foreigners often hold and demonstrating the Chinese people's optimistic attitude towards life. Fancisco, a Spanish businessman who took his Chinese girlfriend to the exhibition, was deeply impressed by the beautiful and confident feminine sculptures.

Russian artists and exhibitors also brought the country's most wonderful oil paintings, adding a distinctive Russian touch to the event.

Due to local people's demand for more famous and remarkable art, the scale of the event expanded this year and its quality greatly improved.

Victor, a Canadian student currently studying in China, found that Guangzhou is in no way a dull and boring city, but an international one that reveres fine arts and encourages communications with other countries. "I've already been to many art exhibitions like this one since I came here. They were all world-class," he said.